The Muslim War Cemetery Peace Garden Horsell Common, Woking · The Muslim War Cemetery Peace Garden...
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The Muslim War Cemetery Peace Garden Horsell Common, Woking The site has a fascinating history and, together with the nearby Shah Jahan Mosque, is the oldest in the country. Built in 1889 by an extraordinary Jew, Dr Gottleib Wilhelm Leitner, the site sets a shining example of bringing together different faiths and cultures within the country. The Burial Ground was founded in 1917 as a last resting place for Allied Muslim soldiers who died of their wounds in this country during WW1, and later supplemented with further burials in WW2, bringing the total numbers of graves to 27. In 1969, following some regrettable vandalism, the graves were transferred to the nearby Brookwood Military Cemetery. For many years the Horsell Common Preservation Society, who had by then taken over the site, tried without success to raise fund to renovate and protect this important monument. In 2012, mindful of the centenary commemorations of the commencement of the Great War, English Heritage offered to fund 80% of the cost of repairs to the boundary wall structure and the Chattri (entrance). In response, Woking Borough Council agreed to meet the balance so the project could be completed and in the autumn of 2013, renovation experts Universal Stone Ltd commenced repairs to the brickwork and Portland stone capping under the guidance of architects Radley House Partnership. The terra firma Consultancy became involved as designers for the garden within the site, with a loose brief to conceive a special place of remembrance celebrating the vast, and vitally important, contribution made to the Allied war effort by armies of the Indian sub-continent. In doing so, this could be a timely reminder of togetherness in today’s mixed culture in Britain.
Transcript of The Muslim War Cemetery Peace Garden Horsell Common, Woking · The Muslim War Cemetery Peace Garden...
The Muslim War Cemetery Peace Garden
Horsell Common, Woking The site has a fascinating history and, together with the nearby Shah Jahan Mosque, is the oldest in the country. Built in 1889 by an extraordinary Jew, Dr Gottleib Wilhelm Leitner, the site sets a shining example of bringing together different faiths and cultures within the country.
The Burial Ground was founded in 1917 as a last resting place for Allied Muslim soldiers who died of their wounds in this country during WW1, and later supplemented with further burials in WW2, bringing the total numbers of graves to 27. In 1969, following some regrettable vandalism, the graves were transferred to the nearby Brookwood Military Cemetery.
For many years the Horsell Common Preservation Society, who had by then taken over the site, tried without success to raise fund to renovate and protect this important monument. In 2012, mindful of the centenary commemorations of the commencement of the Great War, English Heritage offered to fund 80% of the cost of repairs to the boundary wall structure and the Chattri (entrance). In response, Woking Borough Council agreed to meet the balance so the project could be completed and in the autumn of 2013, renovation experts Universal Stone Ltd commenced repairs to the brickwork and Portland stone capping under the guidance of architects Radley House Partnership. The terra firma Consultancy became involved as designers for the garden within the site, with a loose brief to conceive a special place of remembrance celebrating the vast, and vitally important, contribution made to the Allied war effort by armies of the Indian sub-continent. In doing so, this could be a timely reminder of togetherness in today’s mixed culture in Britain.
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Site History
Newspaper Clipping (Source: Surrey Advertiser – 2 August 2013)
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The garden brings together the cultural expression of a traditional Islamic garden with the natural elements of the Common. A formal geometry is set up from the walls, around a central waterbody fed by a rill and a small waterfall from an upper-pool, upon which an up-lit monolithic memorial stone with all the names of the fallen engraved seemingly floats as the garden’s focus. Paths of Indian sandstone lead around the garden while plantings beds of Birch and Heather provide seasonal colour and spatial definition.
Outer boundaries include evergreen and deciduous plantings in simple swathes, kept low so not to detract from the listed walls but with sentinel columnar plantings at opposite ends, either side of the Chattri and the memorial stone. The design is under-laid with symbolism; with one tree for each soldier originally buried in the grounds; the use of Portland stone within Indian granite on the memorial; the Irish yew of the English churchyard which were also in the original planting; Birch tree varieties that originated on the Indian subcontinent; the inclusion of the stone prayer mats orientated towards Mecca along with the strips of differing Heather species within the beds; and the calming sight and sound of gently moving water.
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In November 2015 we were proud to attend the opening ceremony of the garden by HRH the Earl of Wessex. Some of you may have seen the BBC One programme ‘Britain’s Muslim Soldiers’ early in the New Year, which followed the progress of the project through the eyes of its two main instigators, Dr Zafar Iqbal, Woking Borough Council, and Elizabeth Cuttle, Horsell Common Preservation Society, and commemorates the vast and vitally important contribution made to the Allied war effort by the armies of the Indian subcontinent.
Image from BBC
Image from BBC
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Our designs for the garden found funding through numerous sources following the energetic efforts of Zafar, Elizabeth, and their respective organisations. Following competitive tender, the contract to build the garden was won by landscape contractor LDC with water feature specialists Fountains Direct, with work being implemented from November 2014 to June 2015.
Engagement with the local community came both with the approvals from the Shah Jahan Mosque and community stakeholders to early design sketches, but also with physical assistance from local schoolchildren and the Army, including Muslim representatives, who assisted with planting operations. It is hoped that the garden is already becoming a focus for the community and, in some way, represents a meeting of cultures while also engaging visitors with the locality and its natural elements. As with any garden, maintenance was always going to be an issue and the inclusion of a mown lawn and formal water body, with recirculating pumps, means regular attention is required, however these were central to the sense of place and philosophy of what was to be achieved in both form and function.
Otherwise, the layout, minimal use of lighting, and the provision of site power and water all assist ease of maintenance operations where possible. The hard materials are robust and the planting kept simple and appropriate to the site’s soils, which were not replaced nor heavily ameliorated.
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Scheme details:
Complete client and project team: Client: Woking Borough Council (Zafar Iqbal) with Horsell Common Preservation Society (Elizabeth Cuttle, Paul Rimmer) Landscape Architect and Project Manager: The terra firma Consultancy (Lionel Fanshawe and Paul Strugnell) Consultant Engineer: Hockley & Dawson (Doug Murray), with Woking Borough Council (Nigel Miller) CDM: Radley House (Neil Pritchard) and Jeremy Poll (Architect for the separate wall repairs) Contractor: LDC (Nigel Prince, Keith Hamilton and Sally Hanham) Subcontractor Water Specialist: Fountains Direct (Paul Everdell) Site information: Refurbishment of historic site with new memorial garden Size of site: 31 x 43 metres (1,333 m²) Date of practical completion for scheme: July 14th 2015 Date of end of defects for scheme: July 14th 2016 Brief: To produce a design for a new garden to sit within the refurbished walls of the original memorial; work with the clients and community to develop this; assist fundraising and then manage the tender and implementation process (under JCLI contract) Budget: Undetermined at commencement, but final value £187,532.89 Contract/programme/phasing details: Design – 2013-14; Tender – June to August 2014; Contract Works – December 2014 to July 2016 Site visits: Site is open to public
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